Chapter 16: Jing Ming, the Ruthless Recycler

Song Yu glanced at the medical kit; there were at least seven or eight rolls of professional medical bandages, along with some medicines she had never seen before.
【Level 1 Medical Injection: Restores 50 HP】, 【Level 2 Medical Injection: Restores 100 HP】…
These NPCs were truly wealthy.
Every NPC she encountered seemed dripping in wealth, making one tempted to rob them.

“Thank you.”
Song Yu shyly thanked Shuyuan, her polite demeanor a stark contrast to the cold-blooded way she had just killed those players.
The bodies of those players still lay on the ground.
But Shuyuan didn’t find it problematic; after all, those players had sought their own doom.

With the aid of the medical bandages, Xiao Hei’s wounds healed quickly.

“Want to rest at my camp for a while?”
Shuyuan looked down at Song Yu with a faint smile.

“...”
How could there be a man so handsome in this world!

“Wouldn’t it be too much trouble for you?”
Song Yu hesitated, her mind calculating—it was almost dinner time, and perhaps at Shuyuan’s camp, she and Xiao Hei could snag a meal.

She had already found a shelter—albeit a bit rough, but the upside was no zombies, located in the sewer.
Song Yu had checked in advance; no zombies, rats, or cockroaches.
It was relatively safe.

“No, I really like this little guy.”
“Let’s go.”

Shuyuan reached out his hand to Song Yu. His fingers were slender, clean, and defined, like polished white jade.
One had to admit, Shuyuan had all the makings of a romantic novel’s male lead.
But Song Yu wasn’t foolish enough to see herself as the heroine.
What kind of good-hearted author would write a heroine to suffer as much as she had?

Muttering to herself, Song Yu took Shuyuan’s hand, and with his help, climbed onto the great tiger’s back.
The tiger’s fur was soft and fluffy under her touch, and a smile involuntarily lifted the corner of her mouth.
A tiger! She never thought she’d get to ride a tiger in her lifetime!
The feeling was truly marvelous!

The white tiger wasn’t fast, but before long, it carried Song Yu and Shuyuan back to the camp.

---

Shuyuan’s camp was a fenced-in wooded park, one of his many camps.
The camp housed many animals, mostly fierce beasts and birds of prey.
Song Yu followed Shuyuan inside, where other humans also resided.

“Yo, Shuyuan.”
A short-haired girl jumped down from a banyan tree, greeting Shuyuan with a bright smile. Song Yu noticed the title above her head:
【Recycling Merchant — Jing Ming】
Truly, she had searched high and low, and never expected the two merchants she sought to be together.

While they chatted, Song Yu quickly searched the belongings left by the two players she had killed.
Because backpack slots were limited, players usually stored the most valuable and numerous supplies there.
Song Yu was no exception.

This group of players was quite strong, each holding five or six backpack slots.
To Song Yu’s surprise, one player’s backpack contained 207 tubes of level 1 blood and 83 tubes of level 2 blood!
That much blood would fetch a good amount of supplies from Chen Su.

Besides that, there were two hand-crank flashlights, a baseball bat (+11 attack damage), a long spear (+18 attack damage), six jars of jam bread (+25 satiety), six bottles of mineral water, three bottles of vodka (+11 hydration, +21 mood, prone to addiction), and two packs of 40 cigarettes.
She also found a four-wheeled car without gas or keys!

Indeed, robbery was the path to wealth.
Song Yu couldn’t help but feel sorry for the players killed by Shuyuan.
Even the mutated blood from the level 3 zombie’s burst disappeared with the player’s death.
But every loss brought a gain.

Though Song Yu lost many supplies, she successfully earned 30 favor points with Shuyuan.
How to win this guy over was obvious.

After tidying her inventory, Jing Ming and Shuyuan finished their conversation.
Song Yu didn’t deliberately listen, only catching the gist.

Shuyuan had raided a wholesale market with his animal army, grabbing a large stash of supplies, while Jing Ming, acting as a broker, contacted other merchants and organizations in Yangliu City to exchange the goods for what Shuyuan needed.

With such a big deal on the table, Song Yu wasn’t sure if Jing Ming would be interested in her small offerings, and a hint of hesitation crossed her face.

As if sensing her thoughts, Jing Ming extended her hand to Song Yu, smiling brightly.

“I’m recycling merchant Jing Ming. If you need anything, feel free to come to me—even a trade for a single biscuit and a bottle of water, I’ll do it.”
“Right now, if you like.”

“Thank you.”

---

Song Yu smiled awkwardly and took some supplies out of her backpack slots.
Not much—one each of weapons: baseball bat, spear, and dagger; instant noodles, self-heating rice, candy, compressed biscuits; and the bicycle.
To be honest, that bicycle was less practical than just running herself.

As for the vodka, cigarettes, and the four-wheeled car, Song Yu had no intention of trading them to Jing Ming.
They weren’t worth it.

Jing Ming’s demeanor seemed friendly and sincere.
But her profession meant she was far from simple.
Song Yu, prone to suspicion, thought Jing Ming was like her—putting on a facade for outsiders.
First, let down their guard, then strike when least expected.
Though Song Yu’s strikes tended to be literal.

Among the NPCs she’d met, only the few from the Watchers seemed normal; the rest…

Jing Ming inspected the items Song Yu offered and noticed her nervous expression, smiling kindly.

“Don’t be nervous. What do you want to trade for?”

“Water, or medical supplies, either is fine.”

Jing Ming pondered a moment before responding.

“Both are very scarce, you know.”
“I can trade you 10 bottles of water or one roll of disinfectant bandage.”

Jing Ming quoted the price, which was a bit steep.
Song Yu’s items were decent, but Jing Ming’s merchant instincts told her this girl must have better things hidden.

“...I’ll take the bandage.”

Jing Ming’s price was high, but as a recycler, one had to expect to be gouged.
From blood merchant Chen Su’s reactions, it was clear these NPC merchants had fixed roles that couldn’t be broken.
Moreover, they were scattered throughout Yangliu City, often changing locations; finding them and trading involved considerable travel costs.
Jing Ming’s gouging was brazen and unrestrained.

After the deal, Jing Ming leisurely mounted Song Yu’s battered bicycle and rode away from the park.

Song Yu turned her gaze to Shuyuan—that was the main event.